Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 25
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 25.
Several days later, the video edit was complete. The final version went live on Korean University Hospital’s official website and YouTube.
Beom Jun played the hospital’s representative video again today. By now, he’d memorized every line.
But if watching it himself could bump the view count up by even one, he’d do it a hundred times. Well, maybe he’d already done that.
Still, the view count was climbing, however slowly. Though it hadn’t come close to 100,000 yet.
Setting aside his frustration, Beom Jun opened another window and logged into the Hospital Information System to check Im Sung Hyuk’s patient list.
The next episode would be starting soon, after all.
Beom Jun eventually found a familiar name among the outpatient cases scheduled for the afternoon.
‘Finally, patient Kim Pan Soo has come in. His Angina Pectoris was discovered late.’
In Doctor X, there had been a condition that Cardiology hadn’t caught.
When the Coronary Artery that feeds the heart becomes blocked, it’s called Myocardial Infarction, and it can cause severe pain and sudden death.
Angina Pectoris, the stage before Myocardial Infarction, refers to when the Coronary Artery isn’t completely blocked.
But unlike Myocardial Infarction, pain only occurs during strenuous exercise, so if someone doesn’t move much in daily life, it’s hard to detect.
Since Cardiology had mentioned Bradycardia and requested that heart rate be controlled, Im Sung Hyuk missed the early signs of Angina Pectoris.
In the end, patient Kim Pan Soo underwent two surgeries, his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he never recovered—he died.
There was much debate over the cause of patient Kim Pan Soo’s death, but the hospital director in Doctor X sided with Cardiology.
‘Honestly, the reason was that Cardiology didn’t catch it. He’d been on blood pressure medication for over ten years—they should have seen it.’
Reader comments had poured in at the time.
Beom Jun too had been frustrated with Korean University Hospital’s decision as he read that part.
└- Either way, both surgeries went well, so why is that Im Sung Hyuk’s fault?
└- No, when a patient transfers, you’re supposed to do a comprehensive check-up.
└- The director was clearly siding with Cardiology to check Im Sung Hyuk.
But there was something unexpected written in the patient’s will.
‘Professor Im Sung Hyuk did his absolute best to treat me. He is a grateful person who operated on an old man twice. I am going at my appointed time, and I hope this incident brings pain to no one.’
Amid the controversy, patient Kim Pan Soo—the wisest among them all—took everything upon himself and went to his grave.
Beom Jun exhaled softly. The shock he’d felt reading Doctor X back then seemed to come alive again. This had also been the moment that made him reconsider the relationship between doctor and patient.
After the will was made public, Im Sung Hyuk stood out at Korean University Hospital once more, and no one dared criticize him. Though for him, who had lost a patient, it hardly mattered.
A new order appeared in Kim Pan Soo’s prescription record that Beom Jun was reviewing.
– Admission reservation cancelled
– Cardiac ultrasound: 3rd Floor Ultrasound Room
It meant don’t go home as scheduled—do an additional cardiac ultrasound first.
“That’s it!! Blood work won’t show Angina Pectoris.”
Seeing the new order, Beom Jun smiled contentedly. He was impressed that the stubborn fellow had taken patient Kim Pan Soo’s story to heart.
Just then, the Status Window, which had been quiet for a while, appeared.
[Professor Im Sung Hyuk’s Patient Interview skill has increased by 1.]
Huh? Beom Jun opened the character information to check Im Sung Hyuk’s status.
Just like when Jae Gyeong’s administrative support went up, black ink rose from the bottom in the third box of Patient Interview.
[Name: Im Sung Hyuk / Position: Professor]
Patient Interview: ■■■□□
Examination: ■■■□□
Diagnosis: ■■■■■
Treatment: ■■■■■
Follow-up: ■■■■□
– Growth Potential: Sufficient
– Favorability: MAX
So the two bars in Patient Interview had become three. Im Sung Hyuk had raised his own ability.
He’d only given a slight hint, but the man had taken it and run with it. So this is the joy of nurturing talent.
* * *
Chairman Han Myung Jae was checking the video that had been uploaded to Korean University Hospital’s official website.
The video plastered across the front page was better than he’d expected. Actually, it exceeded his expectations.
“So he really pulled it off.”
Despite being only about ten minutes long, the content wasn’t light. The message it conveyed was weighty, and after watching, there was a lingering feeling.
But since it had been a project he’d adamantly opposed, the chairman was embarrassed as he checked the comments.
└- Didn’t Cheon Hee University Hospital put something out? Is making hospital videos trendy these days?
└- Honestly, Korean University Hospital is the top tier domestically.
└- Why is even the hospital director so handsome at Korean University Hospital??
└- Mom, sorry, but I think I like that man.
Viewers were just as interested in the cast’s appearance as the content itself. That was something the chairman wouldn’t normally have considered.
High praise for patient Seo Jin Ha—someone you’d believe was an actress—extended to Professor Im Sung Hyuk and Director Choi Beom Jun.
Even new cancer treatment techniques don’t get this much attention. Since it’s disclosed in an insular medical community, only people who attend conferences know about it.
And it didn’t end with doctors becoming subjects of ridicule on the internet. Within just days of the representative video being uploaded, the number of new patient consultation reservations soared.
Since the hospital’s publicity translated into concrete numbers, the chairman had no choice but to admit Beom Jun was right.
‘The world has certainly changed. Still, hospitals shouldn’t easily follow the times. When dealing with life itself, it’s proper to choose stability and conservatism.’
The chairman continued watching the video’s response, even as he disapproved.
“Right, so he said we needed to reach out to patients first.”
The chairman repeated what Beom Jun had said. It was hard to accept that doctors must play the fool before patients, even if their authority hit rock bottom.
Still, Beom Jun’s attempt was timely, and it had won patient interest. The chairman chuckled thinking how Beom Jun must be riding high right now. Beom Jun had said it from the start—just wait and see. Don’t change your tune later.
“I guess I’m getting old. Ha, I thought the vice-director had brought some punk, but it was Beom the punk.”
Han Myung Jae watched with interest as the hospital director, with a different gleam in his eye, began to strut about.
In any case, it was helping Korean University Hospital right now. If it benefited Korean University Hospital, he could overlook the director taking charge without knowing his place.
* * *
Three days after uploading the video. Beom Jun checked the uploaded video first thing after arriving at the Director’s Office today.
Every time he checked the view count, it felt like his heart was burning. It got worse after the upward trend in views began to plateau.
‘It hasn’t even hit 10,000 yet. This is insane! How long until it reaches 100,000? Can’t we push the deadline to early next year?’
[The Main Quest deadline is until the next quest appears.]
The Status Window appeared as if it had heard Beom Jun’s inner thoughts. But since he didn’t know when the next quest would appear, he couldn’t know the deadline either.
“Director, are you watching the video again? It turned out really well, I think.”
Jae Gyeong, unaware of his struggles, was simply happy that Korean University Hospital now had a representative video. Her planned project had done well, so of course she was delighted.
The video had turned out well, that much he could acknowledge. It was quite decent even compared to the Cheon Hee University Hospital documentary.
But the view count was still insufficient.
While Beom Jun was serious, Jae Gyeong beside him was bright and cheerful, and as he watched her carefree expression, something suddenly occurred to him.
“Right, the staff! Distribute it to the staff first.”
Beom Jun spoke as if enlightened. He’d forgotten about the employees.
The top five domestic hospitals, including Korean University Hospital, didn’t fall short in scale even compared to major corporations.
Just the regular employees numbered around 4,000. With contract workers included, it’d be roughly 5,000. They were Korean University Hospital’s internal audience.
“Ah, you mean send out a text about the representative video being produced, right?”
Beom Jun nodded at Jae Gyeong’s words.
The medical staff would be too busy to really check it, but in nursing—where younger employees gathered—viral spread was possible.
‘If 5,000 people watch it 20 times each, that’s 100,000 views.’
It’s doable. He’d make it happen one way or another.
Beom Jun’s eyes blazed with determination.
* * *
[Hello, everyone. We’ve produced a video introducing Korean University Hospital. We hope for your interest and support. www.knuh.or.kr/nutube.main.do]
After Jae Gyeong sent the message to all employees, the view count exceeded 40,000.
On top of that, Beom Jun ordered the representative video to play continuously throughout the day in the center of the Hospital Lobby to push the view count higher.
In a corner of the lobby, employees gathered in small groups.
“So we had a doctor like this at our hospital. Professor Im Sung Hyuk? Looks like he’s in Thoracic Surgery.”
“I saw him once, and he was exactly like the video.”
Just as Jae Gyeong had said, the video had become quite the hot topic among staff. Employees reacted positively to the issue that arose in-house, moved by Im Sung Hyuk’s sincerity and proud to be working at the same place.
But it was only a temporary spike. As the upward view trajectory began to flatten, Seo Jin Ha’s vlog was uploaded. It was the behind-the-scenes of the hospital’s representative video shoot.
[Heart Transplant Surgery Vlog… │ Appeared in Korean University Hospital Promo Video?! │ Why You Haven’t Seen Me in a While]
– Hello! I started a vlog to celebrate being reborn. And I’m not joking—I was literally reborn! I had a heart transplant surgery.
Thanks to the heart transplant subject matter and her appearance, the video drew huge attention. It probably helped that the hospital where she had surgery was Korean University Hospital, a place everyone knows.
A woman who had given up on life,
and the doctor who gave her a new life.
And Korean University Hospital, which had supported every step of the surgery to ensure its success.
Seo Jin Ha’s touching story hit the algorithm just right, and the view count began to explode.
└- Is that her bare face? She’s so beautiful. Pure elegance.
└- I want to get admitted next to her—can I break my legs first?
As her vlog became a massive hit, the representative video’s own view count climbed alongside it.
└- Replayed the part at 4:42 three times. Really hot.
└- ●My personal favorites list●
4:42 The professor rushing to the Emergency Room
6:29 The professor getting flustered during the interview
7:50 The beautiful patient and the professor’s chemistry sparks
People’s interest shifted from the chemistry between Im Sung Hyuk and patient Seo Jin Ha to the hospital director.
└- No wonder the director is so young. The whole video is young and fresh.
Subsequently, reaction videos, reels, and cleverly edited shorts poured out in droves.
Eventually, the view count soared past the target 100,000 and exceeded 300,000.
[Quest completed.]
[Main Quest: Show the Vision of Korean University Hospital]
[Survival Probability has increased by 3%.]
[Current Survival Probability is 22%.]
As the Status Window announcing quest success appeared, Beom Jun jumped to his feet and shouted.
“Yesssss!!! I did it!! This one was really, really nerve-wracking.”
After completing the quest, he collapsed onto the sofa. His survival probability had gone up, yet somehow his lifespan felt shorter.
– Knock, knock.
“I’ll come in for a moment.”
Jae Gyeong entered the Director’s Office quietly. It was to avoid disturbing the director’s mood, which was sensitive about the view count.
She’d come to report, but upon finding Beom Jun with vacant eyes, she quietly set the documents on his desk.
However, Beom Jun caught sight of the papers Jae Gyeong had set down from the corner of his eye.
“What’s that? Let me see.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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